www.maderatribune.comServing the Heart of California since 1892http://www.maderatribune.com/node/2230/atom.xml2015-03-03T22:53:28+00:00http://www.maderatribune.com/columns/living-unity-good-it-isn%E2%80%99t-always-easy2012-07-07T08:59:01+00:002012-07-08T09:07:31+00:00Living in unity is good, but it isn’t always easywebmaster

"How good and pleasant it is when brethren live together in unity!"— Psalm 133:1

I have looked at this biblical verse many times, and my eye has always landed on that word: unity. It is a powerful word. It is a healthy word. As the psalmist describes it, it is a good and pleasant word.

But then I looked at the rest of the verse and found myself asking: Why is it good and pleasant when “brethren” live together in unity? What about the rest of the world? Does the psalmist not care about others? Is it a bad thing when people who aren’t “brethren” dwell in unity?

Of course, I think asking who my brethren are really misses the point of the whole thing. Cain clobbered his sibling because he saw Abel as a rival for God’s affection; he saw Abel as an “other” and not as a “brother.” How sad...